Lebanon: Flash Update #21 - Escalation of hostilities in south Lebanon, as of 27 June 2024

HIGHLIGHTS

• 96,829 individuals (50% females) have been displaced from south Lebanon due to the ongoing hostilities as of 25 June (source: DTM).
• 1,801 casualties have been reported, including 435 deaths. Among these, at least 97 civilian deaths have been confirmed (source: OHCHR, MoPH).
• On 13 June, two women were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Jennata, Tyre.
• On 25 June, UNIFIL said that a vehicle of three contractors working with the UN peacekeeping mission was hit by gunfire.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Lebanon continues to be impacted by the current hostilities, with daily exchanges of fire across the country’s southern border. The most intense bombardment remains concentrated in areas within 12 km of the Blue Line, while targeted Israeli airstrikes extend far into the country. Severe damage to water, electricity, and telecoms infrastructure as well as roads in southern Lebanon have been recorded, and maintenance and repair workers have been killed and injured as they attempt to maintain services for the area’s remaining residents, alongside medics and first responders.

To date, at least 97 civilians have been killed since hostilities escalated in October 2023. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), the total number of casualties since October 8, 2023, stands at 1,801, including 435 fatalities.

• On 13 June 2024: two women were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Jennata, Tyre.
• On 16 June 2024: a woman succumbed to her wounds sustained from an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of Kafra (Bint-Jbeil) several days earlier.
• On 24 June 2024: a man succumbed to his wounds sustained from an Israeli airstrike on 18 June in Al-Borgholieh village.
• On 25 June, UNIFIL confirmed that a vehicle of three contractors working with the UN peacekeeping mission was hit by gunfire, reiterating its condemnation of any attack on civilians.

As of 25 June, 96,829 people have been internally displaced and are seeking refuge across Lebanon, with 96 per cent originating from Bint Jbeil, Marjaayoun, and Tyre districts.

• Some 82 per cent of the IDPs are currently living with host families, while 15 per cent are renting houses. Another two per cent have relocated to secondary residences. Around one per cent are housed in 16 collective shelters.
• Of the 82 percent in host settings, 24,961 are co-living with non-internally displaced families, while 54,542 reside separately. Notably, according to IOM, 17 percent of the 79,503 individuals in host settings live in overcrowded conditions.
• 1,498 displaced people are hosted in 16 collective shelters, with five located in Tyre, six in Hasbaya, four in Nabatieh, one in Saida.
• 33 percent of IDPs are children (< 18 years), while 34 percent are female adults and 33 percent are male adults.

Both IDPs and host communities are experiencing escalating fatigue, heightening the risk of intra- Lebanese tensions. IDPs are grappling with extended displacement and uncertain living conditions, while host communities are beginning to feel the pressure on local resources and, in some instances, competition for jobs.

Since February 2024, and up to 27 June, 36 humanitarian missions have been conducted to towns and villages in hard-to-reach areas along the frontline, where around 60,000 civilians are still present, according to available data.